Assistant Fire Management Officer

Full Job Description

This is a Direct-Hire advertisement. Veterans preference is not applicable to this advertisement.

Learn more about this authority at: Direct Hire Authority This Supervisory Wildland Firefighter (Fire Management Officer) position is with the US Wildland Fire Service, GW-0456-11 working in the following location(s): Bell City, Louisiana Lacombe, Louisiana In order to qualify for this position you must possess the Minimum Qualification requirements listed below.

This position has been identified as one of the key fire management positions under the Interagency Fire Program Management (IFPM) Standard.

This position has been categorized as a Unit Fire Program Manager - Moderate Complexity, and requires selectee to meet the minimum qualification standards for IFPM prior to being placed into the position.

Detailed information regarding IFPM positions can be found here: Interagency Fire Program Management (IFPM).

To meet IFPM requirements, you must have possessed all of the following National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) incident management qualifications and training requirements to be considered eligible for this position (currency not required at time of referral, but may be required to obtain and maintain currency if selected): Moderate Pathway #1: 1.) Task Force Leader (TFLD) AND 2.) Incident Commander Type 3 (ICT3) or Prescribed Fire Burn Boss, Type 2 (RXB2) OR Moderate Pathway #2: 1.) Helibase Manager (HEBM) AND 2.) Incident Commander, Type 3 (ICT3) To meet additional IFPM training requirements, as a "condition of employment", you must complete the following within one year of the entry on duty date: Fire Program Management (M-581) In addition to the requirements described above, the following additional experience is required.

Only experience and education obtained by 02/27/2026 will be considered. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. Please be sure to include this information in your resume.

No assumptions will be made about your experience.

Minimum Qualification GW-11 A.) If you are a current or former federal employee who served in a competitive or excepted appointment, your resume must show that you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GW-09 grade level that demonstrates your ability to assist in directing multiple phases of fire management programs on Federally managed lands.

Examples of qualifying specialized experience include, fire management planning, aviation management, training and workforce planning, fire preparedness, fuels management and fire prevention, dispatching, suppression, post-suppression, as well as hazard and emergency response activities.

OR B.) If you have never been or are NOT a current or former federal employee who served in a competitive or excepted appointment, your resume must show that you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GW-10 grade level that demonstrates your ability to direct multiple phases of fire management programs on Federally managed lands.

Examples of qualifying specialized experience include, fire management planning, aviation management, training and workforce planning, fire preparedness, fuels management and fire prevention, dispatching, suppression, post-suppression, as well as hazard and emergency response activities.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social).

Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

*Applicants must meet all minimum qualification requirements for the position of interest by the closing date of the Job Announcement.

Secondary Firefighter Retirement Coverage - Applicants for this secondary administrative fire fighter position under the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 8336 (c) (CSRS) and 5 U.S.C.

8412 (d), must possess knowledge of the principles, methods, and techniques of wildland firefighting as demonstrated by direct wildland firefighting experience.

In order to receive credit, you must provide a written description of your experience in wildland firefighting.

Education without hands-on wildland firefighting experience does not meet this requirement.

Periods of wildland firefighting experience, gained through militia and rural fire departments, can also be credited. Wildland fire is defined as any non-structure fire that occurs in the wildland.

Two distinct types of wildland fire have been defined and include wildfire and prescribed fires as follows: Wildfire: Unplanned ignitions or prescribed fires that are declared wildfires.

Prescribed Fires: Planned ignitions. This description includes only fire line experience on a Prescribed Fire; it does not include experience in the planning stages.

Prescribed fire experience must be supplemented by fire suppression experience in order to be creditable as previous wildland firefighting experience.

Physical Demands: Normally the work is sedentary but often requires physical exertion while overseeing fire suppression activities including walking over rough, steep, uneven terrain in all types of weather.

The incumbent is faced with emergency situations at all hours and must respond quickly.

The position may require long shifts or multi-day assignments under primitive living conditions during emergencies.

During the fire season, extended fire assignments away from the unit may be required under very stressful conditions. Working Conditions: Although work is generally performed in an office setting.

Field work involves exposure to temperature extremes, both from weather and fire conditions where falling trees and the presence of smoke and/or dust create hazardous conditions.

The nature of fire suppression work requires that protective clothing (boots, hard hats, etc.) be worn during fire assignments.

The incumbent must exercise a variety of safety practices and precautions for the well-being of self and of others. Major Duties:

As a Assistant Fire Management Officer your duties will include but are not limited to the following: Supervision: Supervises regularly assigned fire management staff and provides situational leadership and supervision for additional fire management staff during preparedness and incident response assignments; likewise, assigns and reassigns crews, firefighters, and other fire staff to various shifts and stations throughout the organization.

Fire Program Management: Develops and maintains overall fire management plans for moderately complex fire programs covering a variety of activities such as: fire detection (i.e., lookout towers, detection cameras, ground and aerial patrols, aerial observation routes); fuels management projects; staffing requirements; pre-incident planning for construction of landing spots, fire camps, staging areas, fuel breaks and barriers, and water facilities; organizational requirements for supplies, materials, fleet, equipment, and facilities, standardized mapping and record keeping systems; strategic locations of fire resources; prevention inspection schedules and workload requirements; initial attack methods; operating procedures; operational methods for managing and suppressing large fires; policies and procedures for operating and maintaining communications systems and facilities; and fire management training programs needs and requirements.

Planning: Facilitates fire management planning activities.

Fire management planning involves interacting with all disciplines (interdisciplinary teams) as well as subordinate leadership, employees of the organization, and cooperators from other federal, state, tribal, and local agencies.

Preparedness / Operations: Makes periodic inspections of the fire management organization and operations for compliance with approved plans, rules, regulations, and standards to ensure that an adequate and effective fire management force is being maintained.

Fuels Management: Ensures the fuels management program is consistent with ecosystem management principles, land management plans, and evaluates the impacts to air quality standards.